Dominique Aegerter returned to action at the Circuito Estoril, Portugal, completing alongside teammate Remy Gardner a busy Friday affected by weather conditions.

The Swiss rider, who was forced to miss the last three rounds, made his comeback in a wet Free Practice 1 where he focused mainly on getting the feeling back on his Yamaha R1 machine. On the other side of the garage, Gardner looked to build confidence on the Portuguese circuit, attempting to learn its classic layout. The Australian was 16th on a 1'54.595, with Aegerter 23rd (1’57.255).

As the track tried up, the GYTR GRT Yamaha duo faced a dry start to the Free Practice 2. Looking to improve his feeling on the Estoril Circuit, Gardner was 13th (1’38.841), prioritizing race tyre options before rain returned with ten minutes left, which meant a premature end to the session. Aegerter focused again on gaining feeling and clocking as many laps as possible; he was 22nd at the chequered flag on a 1’40.885.

Following a medical revision after Free Practice 2, Dominique Aegerter was declared fit to race for the remainder of the weekend.

Remy Gardner: P13 (1’38.841)
“It was a busy day, but overall I like the track. I tried to learn the layout as soon as possible and we could ride in both dry and wet condition. Unfortunately we missed some valuable track time in the afternoon as rain returned, but the feeling is not too bad and I’m confident we can progress further more. Let’s see what happens tomorrow, being aware weather will be unstable, so we should be ready to react quickly.”

Dominique Aegerter: P22 (1’40.885)
“It’s so nice to be back, although it wasn’t an easy day! In the morning I tried to get the feeling back under the rain, which was good on one side as I could ride smoothly, but also risky on the other as it’s easier to crash on slippery asphalt. Anyway, we were able to clock some laps and in the afternoon we could ride on dry which was ideal. Of course it will be a challenging weekend, but step by step I’m coming back, with the target of improving each session and be again comfortable on my Yamaha R1.”